i am not sure what the soil is but i will check and get back to you about it.
as for the pots they were all planted straight into 2 and a half gallon pots. one plants per pot. i think i may have started them in to big of pots and not enough water was getting to the roots.

if it was up to me i would start them indoors but that is totally out of the question so is their any other option? would it be better if i started them in little pots or red drinking cups and then transported them into bigger pots later?